Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1887-08-12
The Railroad Slaughter.


curaion train of fifteen coaches, carrying ego
passengers and drnwn by two locomotives,
was wrecked at midnight Wednesday by
the collapse of a burning bridge at Chats.
worth, six miles east of Forest, H., on the
Toledo, Peoria and Western Railroad. One
locomotive, Elk passenger coaches and three
baggage cars went through. One hundred
and eighteen dead were taken out, and four
hundred persons were injured. The train
was bound for Niagara Falls, and The ma
lority Of the excursionists came from Peoria,
ILL.,, although there were some from Canton,
Ell Paso, Washington and other places. The
dead aud wounded were plundered in such
systematic manner as to suggest that the
bridge had been deliberately set on fire with
that object in view. A surviving passenger
makes tho following statement: II was on
the second sleeper. The train was going
FAST when all at once, about midnight, there
came peculiar shaking and jostling. ]
thought we had been derailed. Our porter
said, we are all right when some one
cried, There's fire aheadn got up and
went to the front of the car and found the
first engine had rushed on, but the
second engine had tumbled into the
chasm 1t had telescoped and the en-
gneer was o shapeless mass. The first
car was turned at right angles with the
track and the remaining eleven cars were
telescoped and piled up in heap. Several
of us climbed upon the cars with axes and
lanterns and went to work. The first man
we found was Billy Stevens. He was dead.
We pulled him cut after some effort, and
then pulled his two daughters, Emma and
Ida out They were both dead. Everyone
was grooming and crying. Their feet SEEM
ed TO be damned most of them had their
legs broken. After an hour and half we
cleared the cals. People were Offering $50
each for relief Probably there were doz-
en- bodies taken out. l then went down Oh
the ground and assisted in taking the dead
down. They put plank up and they help
ed them cut, sliding them down the plank.
! If they were dead they put them in one
piIo; if alive, they put them in another.
| The rescued people seemed to want to see
| their families at once. There were in Mrs
James Deals party five people, every one OF
whom were killed but one, and she was hor-
ribly dsfgured. 1t was late in the after
noon before they were recognized.
"There was one incident of The accident
which stood out moro horrible than all Of
those horrible scenes. In the second coach
was 81 man, his wife and little child. His
name could not be learned, but it is said he
got on at Peoria. When the accident oc
Cured the entire family Of three was caught
aud held down by broken woodwork. FL
nally, when relief came the man turned TO
the friendly rescuers and feebly said; Take
out my wife first Pm afraid the child is
dead So they carried of the mother, and
as broken seat was taken off her crushed
| 4 oh ,uallad ha. ing
told how badly she was hurt. They carried
the child, fair-haired, blue eyed girl OF
three, and laid her in the corniied, dead
alongside of her dying mother. Then they
went back for the father and brought him
out Both his legs were broken, hut he
| crawled through tho corn to the side Of his
wife, and, feeling her loved features in the
darkness, pressed some brady to her lips
and asked her how she felt. A feeble groan
was the only answer and the next instant
she died The man felt the forms of his
dead wife and child and cried ont: My
God there is nothing more for me to live for
now and taking pistol out of his pocket,
pulled the trigger. The bullet went surely
through his brain, and the three dead bodies
of that iittlo family are now lying side by
side in Chatsworth waiting 10 be identi-
fed.
Zone little boy the son of Methodist
minister at Abingdon, about twelve years
DID, was found on the bosom Of his dead
mother. His left leg hung by the skin, his
right arm was broken and one eye was put
out He never uttered groan. They pull
ed him out and tried TO give him drink of
handy. He refused to take it and said,
Give me- water found head hanging
from the track. 1t was apparently man,
and had been caught by the hair. 1 found
several hendless bodies. Those who recog-.
nized tho dead Immediately ticketed them"
DIR. Hazen, of Fort Madison, Iowa. says
he pulled the backs of of two seats before
he could get his wife out. She was bruised
on the body and both of her feet were
crushed. His shoulder was dislocated, and
he had it pulled into place as soon as lie
could get out of the wreck. In helping
others he put it out Of place again and had
10 have it pulled in place a second timo.
There were nine persons in his party, and
he can only hear of three Of them.
A special to the Chicago Times from For
est, ILL.,, SAYS: mo sooner had the wreck
occurred than scene of robbery commenced.
Some hand of uDspeakable miscreants plan
dercd the dead and took even tho shoes which
covered their feet. The horrible suspicion
exists that the accident was deliberately
planned case of train wrecSing, that the
bridge was set on fire by miscreants who
hoped to seize the opportunity offered, and
the fact that the bridge was so far consumed
at the time the train came along and the
added fact that the train was an hour and q
half late axe pointed cut as evidence of
conspiracy.
These fe Ids went into the cars when The
ht,rp l,, 4
when the poor wretcheS who were pinned
there begged then. for Gods sake, to help
them out" stripped them of their watches
and jewelry and searched their pockets for
money. When the dead bodies were laid out
in the cornields these hyenas turned them
over in their search for valuables, and that
the plumber was done by an organized gang
was proven by the fact that this morning
out in the cornGeld sixteen purses, all empty
were found in one heap 1t was CHASTITY
plundering, and had tho. pundere.s